Vertical spiral multilevel sorter and merge conveyor for three dimensional automated pick module

ABSTRACT

A vertical storage rack system includes a vertically moveable transport conveyor and one or more vertical feed conveyors that vertically extend between the various rack levels so that items can be loaded and/or unloaded at any of the levels without the need for the vertically moveable transport to return to a loading/unloading level. This vertical rack system can be used to load and unload items from the racks as well as rearrange items in the racks. This system and technique allows items to be continuously moved in a vertical direction as well as sorts or merges the items at high speeds. In other words, this arrangement minimizes the vertical positioning of the vertically moveable transport conveyor, such as a cross-belt conveyor, before it can discharge (and/or load) items, thereby improving throughput.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/US2009/030118 filed Jan. 5, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/021,992, filed Jan. 18, 2008, which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2009/030118, filed Jan. 5, 2009, is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/626,869,filed Jan. 25, 2007, which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety. International Application No. PCT/US2009/030118 filed Jan. 5,2009, is further a continuation-in-part of International Application No.PCT/US2008/050501, filed Jan. 8, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/626,869, filed Jan. 25, 2007, which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. This application isa continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/626,869,filed Jan. 25, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to conveyor systems.

Most warehouses and retail spaces only utilize a fraction of theiravailable vertical space due to many factors, including the limitedrange to access items stored at higher levels. Three dimensional racksystems in the form of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (oftenreferred to as ASRS or AS/RS) have been proposed that store items onvertical storage racks. However, these vertical systems have severalsignificant commercial drawbacks. As one example, throughput is always aconcern for these vertical systems because moving the additionalvertical dimension can increase retrieval times. In other words,retrieving items from the racks in a quick and efficient manner has beena constraint in most proposed systems.

Thus, there is a need for improvement in this field.

SUMMARY

Inventors of the present invention previously developed a unique andinventive three-dimensional automated material handling system that isdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/626,869, filed Jan. 25,2007, and International Application No. PCT/US2008/50501, filed Jan. 8,2008, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Inthe systems described in these applications, a vertically moveableconveyor in the form of a cross-belt conveyor loads items into acentrally located series of bins or totes. In one variation of thissystem, a cross-belt conveyor system surrounds a vertical transport ontowhich the totes are loaded, and the cross-belt conveyor system iscoupled to an elevator portion of the vertical transport so that thecross-belt conveyor system moves vertically in unison with the verticaltransport. The cross-belt conveyor system includes a number of discreteconveyor belts that are able to individually or collectively conveyitems. The individual conveyor belt sections in the cross-belt conveyorsystem are able to move or rotate around the vertical transport. Thecross-belt conveyor system allows multiple rack positions to be unloadedsimultaneously as well as allows the totes to be filled simultaneouslyfrom two or more sides. While such a system allows items to be picked orplaced at a rate that is up to 4 or 5 times that of a human operatorwith nearly 100% accuracy, there are circumstances, such as inmanufacturing, distribution, warehousing and/or retail environments,that require significantly higher distribution or transit speeds.

The inventors of the present invention discovered that one significantbottleneck to throughput was the travel time of the vertical transport.Totes were not able to be unloaded from the vertical transport until thevertical transport reached an unloading level where the totes weretransferred to another conveyor.

The inventors solved this problem of rapidly distributing items to orfrom a vertical storage rack system with a vertically moveable transportconveyor by replacing the totes with one or more vertical feed conveyorsthat vertically extend between the various rack levels so that items canbe loaded and/or unloaded at any of the levels without the need for thevertically moveable transport to return to a loading/unloading level.This unique and inventive vertical rack system can be used to load andunload items from the racks as well as rearrange items in the racks. Aswill be appreciated, this system and technique allows items to becontinuously moved in a vertical direction as well as sorts or mergesthe items at high speeds. In other words, this arrangement minimizes thevertical positioning of the vertically moveable transport conveyor, suchas a cross-belt conveyor, before it can discharge (or load) items,thereby improving throughput.

In one embodiment, the vertical feed conveyors are in the form of one ormore spiral-shaped conveyors around which the cross-belt conveyor islooped. The spiral shape of the spiral conveyors allows items to beloaded and/or unloaded continuously from the various vertical racklevels as well as provides a compact configuration. Items can be loadedor unloaded at the various levels from one or more sides of the spiralconveyor. For example, with the cross-belt conveyor looped around thespiral conveyors, items can be loaded simultaneously onto the spiralconveyors from two or more sides. In one form, the vertical incline ofthe spiral conveyor is held to zero (i.e., the conveyor is not inclinedsuch that it is level) for an 180 degree or bigger arc to allow twomerge points at opposite sides at the same vertical level, but this arcwhere the spiral conveyor is level can be different in otherembodiments. In further variations, other types of conveyors can be usedin place of the spiral and cross-belt conveyors.

This system also allows items to be rapidly transported to or from oneor more discharge/supply locations, even when the rows of items in thevertical racks are not aligned (horizontally and/or vertically) with thedischarge/supply locations. For example, the cross-belt conveyor can beused to laterally transport one or more items from one rack row that isnot horizontally aligned with a spiral conveyor, and the spiral conveyorcan be used to vertically transport the items up or down to a dischargelocation. At the discharge location, the items can be further processed.For instance, the items at the discharge location can be packaged,processed, sorted, palletized, loaded into a vehicle (e.g., a truck,van, car, train, ship, airplane, and/or the like), inspected, etc.

In addition, the vertical rack system allows items to be simultaneouslyloaded, unloaded, and rearranged in the racks, if so desired. Forexample, one of the spiral conveyors can be used to supply items to thecross-belt conveyor, which in turn loads items into a rack; while at thesame time, the cross-belt conveyor discharges items onto another spiralconveyor. In another example, the cross-belt conveyor is used totransport or rearrange items between rows on the same level and/or rowson different levels, such as by moving vertically and/or via the spiralconveyors.

Another aspect concerns a unique system and technique for replenishingitems on the racks. Although this system and technique will be describedwith reference to replenishing items on the racks, it can also be usedto remove items from the racks and/or to rearrange items. For instance,this system can be used to supply items from the racks to two or morespiral conveyors. In the system, one or more vertically extending feedconveyors, such as spiral conveyors, transport items vertically to thevarious rack levels. At each vertical rack level, one or more conveyorsare used to horizontally or laterally transport the items to the variousstorage rows on the particular level. It is contemplated that othertypes of conveyors can be used as well. Along these lateral conveyors,each level has a moveable pusher member that loads items into theparticular rows. The pusher member is able to move horizontally alongthe conveyor to service the entire level or some section of the level,thereby reducing the number of pusher members needed. In a furthervariation, one or more pusher members are disposed along the spiral todirect items to a specific rack level. In one example, a single pushermember travels in a spiral fashion along the spiral conveyor so that itcan service more than one vertical level and/or the entire spiralconveyor. In another example, each level has a pusher member.

Other aspects concern unique mechanisms and techniques for divertingitems from the vertical feed conveyors in order to supply items to thevarious rack levels. In one embodiment, an angled roller belt on aspiral conveyor diverts items, and in another embodiment, a pullermechanism pulls items from the spiral conveyor. In still yet anotherembodiment, a shoe sorter on the spiral conveyor diverts items on thespiral conveyor.

As should be appreciated, the system and techniques described andillustrated herein can be utilized in numerous situations andenvironments including, but not limited to, warehousing, manufacturing,distribution, retail, and the like.

Further forms, objects, features, aspects, benefits, advantages, andembodiments of the present invention will become apparent from adetailed description and drawings provided herewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a three-dimensional storage systemaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the FIG. 1 system.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a spiral conveyor according to oneembodiment that can be incorporated into the FIG. 1 system.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the FIG. 3 spiral conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the FIG. 3 spiral conveyor.

FIG. 6 is perspective view of a three-dimensional storage systemaccording to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a spiral conveyor system according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a top, cross-sectional view of the FIG. 7 spiral conveyorsystem as taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a spiral conveyor system according to afurther embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a top, cross-sectional view of the FIG. 9 spiral conveyorsystem as taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a spiral conveyor system according to stillyet another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a top, cross-sectional view of the FIG. 11 spiral conveyorsystem as taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a front view of a spiral conveyor system according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a top, cross-sectional view of the FIG. 13 spiral conveyorsystem as taken along line 14-14 in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is perspective view of a three-dimensional storage systemaccording to still yet another embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED EMBODIMENTS

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated inthe drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. Itwill nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modificationsin the described embodiments, and any further applications of theprinciples of the invention as described herein are contemplated aswould normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates. One embodiment of the invention is shown in great detail,although it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art thatsome common features that are not relevant to the present invention maynot be shown for the sake of clarity.

For the convenience of the reader, it should be initially noted that thedrawing in which an element is first introduced is typically indicatedby the left-most digit(s) in the corresponding reference number. Forexample, a component identified with a one-hundred series referencenumber (e.g., 100, 101, 102, 103, etc.) will usually be first discussedwith reference to FIG. 1, and a component with a two-hundred seriesreference number (e.g., 200, 201, 202, 203, etc.) will usually be firstdiscussed with reference to FIG. 2.

A three-dimensional storage system 100 according to one embodiment(among many) of the present invention will be initially described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As can be seen, FIG. 1 illustrates aperspective view of the system 100, and FIG. 2 shows a top plan view ofthe system 100. Looking at FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a series ofconveyors in vertical racks 102 for storing products or other types ofitems. The system 100 further includes one or more vertical feed(in-feed/discharge) conveyors 104. At least a portion of a verticaltransport conveyor 106 extends between the racks 102 and the verticalconveyors 104. As indicated by vertical direction arrow 107, an elevatortype mechanism 108 vertically raises or lowers the vertical transport106 to one or more levels 109 of the racks 102 where items 110, whichare commonly called stock keeping units (SKUs), are stored. The verticaltransport 106 includes a transport conveyor 112 that is able to movelaterally relative to the racks 102 in either direction, as is indicatedby double arrow 113. This ability of the transport conveyor 112 to movelaterally (horizontally) allows the transport conveyor 112 to transportitems 110 between the vertical feed conveyors 104 and rows 114 of items110 on the racks 102 even when the vertical feed conveyors 104 and therows 114 of items 110 are not aligned. In other words, this arrangementallows items 110 to be transported regardless of the relative locationof the vertical feed conveyors 104 and the rows 114. As can be seen, thevertical feed conveyors 104 extend vertically such that the transportconveyor 106 is able to load and/or unload items 110 on numerous racklevels 109 without needing the vertical transport 106 to return to thebottom or some other loading/unloading level. With this arrangement,items 110 can be rapidly and continuously loaded, unloaded and/orrearranged on the racks 102. For additional information about the racks102, transport conveyors 106, elevators 108, as well as other variousfeatures, please refer to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/626,869,filed Jan. 25, 2007 and International Application No. PCT/US2008/50501,filed Jan. 8, 2008, which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

In one example, the system 100 is used to rapidly supply items 110 tomultiple locations. During operation, the elevator 108 raises or lowersthe vertical transport 106 to various rack levels 109. Once the verticaltransport 106 reaches a desired rack level 109, one or more items 110from that particular level 109 are discharged from the racks 102 ontothe transport conveyor 112. The transport conveyor 112 then moves theitems 110 to one or more of the vertical feed conveyors 104, and theitems 110 are then deposited onto the vertical feed conveyors 104. Thevertical feed conveyors 104 move the items 110 to one or more desireddischarge/supply or processing levels (or locations) 118 and/or to othersystems for further processing. In this example, the discharge level 118is located at the bottom of the vertical feed conveyors 104, but inother embodiments, the discharge level 118 can be located at the top orsomewhere in between the top and bottom. At the discharge level 118, theitems 110 can be further processed. For instance, the items 110 at thedischarge level 118 can be packaged, sorted, palletized, loaded into avehicle (e.g., a truck, car, train, ship, airplane, and/or the like),inspected, etc. Once the desired items 110 from the level 109 areretrieved, the elevator 108 raises or lowers the transport conveyor 112to a different level 109 so that the items 110 on that level 109 can beloaded onto the vertical feed conveyors 104 in the same fashion asdescribed above. It should be appreciated that this process can bereversed in order to replenish items 110 on the racks 102. For instance,items 110 can be supplied via the vertical feed conveyors 104, loadedonto the transport conveyors 112, and then loaded into the racks 102 ona particular level 109. Subsequently, the transport conveyor 112 israised or lowered to replenish other levels 109.

The items or SKUs 110 on the racks 102 can include individual productsor a collection of products grouped together, such as in a box. Eachrack 102 has one or more vertical levels 109 on which the items 110 arestored. The various levels 109 can be evenly spaced or unevenly spaced.As can be seen, each level 109 has one or more rack conveyors 116 thatare independently moveable with respect to one another. Although therack conveyors 116 illustrated in the drawings are belt conveyors, itshould be recognized that other types of conveyors can be used. likeroller conveyors, etc. The rack conveyors 116 are generally flat orlevel with respect to the floor, but it is contemplated that the rackconveyors 116 can be slightly or significantly inclined, if so desired.Moreover, in other variations, the racks 102 may not include conveyorsat all, but for example, include generally smooth sliding surfaces.Moreover, the items 110 in other embodiments can be arranged on theracks 102 in other manners (besides in rows). For example, the items 110can be arranged in a staggered fashion on the racks 102. Although oneset of racks 102 is shown, the system 100 in other embodiments caninclude two or more sets of racks 102. For example, the system 100 caninclude a series of racks 102 circumferentially spaced around thevertical transport 106. In another example, the racks 102 can bepositioned on opposite sides of the vertical feed conveyors 104, and instill yet another example, one or more transport conveyors 112 alongwith the vertical feed conveyors 104 generally wrap around or surroundthe racks 102.

Looking at FIG. 2, the transport conveyor 112 is looped around thevertical feed conveyors 104. A second set of racks 102 can be located onthe opposite side of the vertical transport 106 so that the loopedconfiguration of transport conveyor 112 is able to load items 110 ontothe vertical feed conveyors 104 from opposing sides. Each rack 102 canbe serviced by more than one vertical transport 106. For example, thevertical transports 106 can be oriented in a side-by-side fashion,vertically stacked or offset from one another, and/or arranged in someother manner. When more than one is used, various vertical transports104 can move vertically and/or horizontally independently of anotherand/or in unison. Likewise, various transport conveyors 112 cantransport items 110 independently of one another and/or in unison.

The transport conveyor 112 in the illustrated embodiment is a cross-beltconveyor, but in other embodiments, other types of conveyors can be usedlike roller, bucket, chain, angled roller belt (ARB), and cart-on-trackconveyors, to name just a few examples. In these other embodiments,various mechanisms, such as pusher mechanisms, puller mechanisms, shoes,etc., can be used to load and unload items 110 from the transportconveyor 112, if needed. The transport conveyor 112 is used to transferitems 110 from the storage racks 102 to the vertical feed conveyors 104(or vice-versa). In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the cross-beltconveyor includes individual carriages 202 linked together that aremoveable along a carriage track or rail. In the illustrated embodiment,the carriages 202 are linked together to form a continuous, endlessloop, but in other embodiments, a number of carriages 202 can be groupedtogether to form several trains that simultaneously run along the trackin an asynchronous manner. For example, the cross-belt conveyor inanother embodiment has two trains of carriages 202 located on oppositesides of the vertical feed conveyors 104. The two separate trains areconfigured to move independently of one another in order to speedprocessing. In still yet another embodiment, the transport conveyor 112is not looped around the vertical feed conveyors 104, but instead, twoparallel transport conveyors 112 extend in a linear fashion on oppositesides of the vertical feed conveyors 104. The system 100 in still yetanother embodiment has a single transport conveyor 112 extending betweenoppositely facing racks 102, and the vertical feed conveyors 104 areoffset and/or remotely located relative to the racks 102. For instance,the vertical feed conveyors 104 can be shifted over to one side (orboth) such that the vertical feed conveyors 104 are not aligned with therack conveyors 116.

Returning to FIG. 1, the vertical feed conveyors 104 in one embodimentextend vertically for the full height of the racks 102. In otherembodiments, the vertical feed conveyors 104 can be shorter or tallerthan the racks 102. For example, the racks 102 in one variation can belocated in a lower level or floor, such as a basement, and the verticalfeed conveyors 104 are taller than the racks 102 so that items 110 canbe delivered to and/or supplied from a level, such as a ground floor,that is located above the racks 102. The vertical feed conveyors 104 inanother example extend below or beneath the racks 102 that are locatedin an upper floor or level so that items 110 can be delivered to and/orsupplied from locations located below the racks 102. The system 100 instill another variation can include combinations of vertical feedconveyors 104 that extend above the racks 102, below the racks 102,and/or at the same general level of the racks 102. In furtherembodiments, the system 100 includes numerous combinations of verticalfeed conveyors 104 that are the same size, taller, and/or shorter thanthe racks 102. For vertical feed conveyors 104 that do not extend forthe full height of the racks 102, items 110 on the rack levels 109 abovethe vertical feed conveyors 104 can be lowered to the vertical feedconveyors 104 via the vertical transport 106. Items 110 not prone todamage can also be dropped from the higher levels.

In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical feed conveyors 104 in theillustrated embodiment are designed to load and/or unload from everyrack level 109, but in other embodiments, the vertical feed conveyors104 can be configured to load and/or unload items 110 from some otherinterval of rack levels 109. For example, the vertical feed conveyors104 in other embodiments are configured to receive and/or supply items110 from every other or every third rack level 109. It should berecognized that the vertical feed conveyors 104 can receive and/orsupply items 110 at other level intervals. Moreover, the system 100 caninclude combinations of vertical feed conveyors 104 that servicedifferent rack levels 109. For instance, one or more of the verticalfeed conveyors 104 can service the even rack levels 109 (i.e., secondlevel, fourth level, etc.) and at least one other vertical feed conveyor104 can service the odd rack levels 109 (i.e., first level, third level,etc.).

The vertical feed conveyors 104 in the system 100 depicted in FIGS. 1and 2 are spiral-type conveyors. In one form, the vertical feedconveyors 104 are spiral conveyors of the type supplied by Ambaflex(Grand Prairie, Tex.) or Ryson International (Yorktown, Va.), forinstance. In other embodiments, the vertical feed conveyors 104 can beconfigured and/or shaped differently. For example, instead of extendingin a circular spiral, the vertical feed conveyors 104 in otherembodiments extend in a rectangular (or even square) helical pattern.The spiral or helical shape of the vertical feed conveyors 104 providesa compact configuration for fitting inside the loop of the transportconveyor 112. The vertical feed conveyors 104, however, in othervariations extend in other fashions, besides in a helical pattern. Forinstance, one or more of the vertical feed conveyors 104 are straightand extend in a slant-type fashion from the top to the bottom of theracks 102. In another example, the vertical feed conveyors 104 extend ina stair-step fashion. In this example, each horizontal step of thestair-stepped shape vertical feed conveyor 104 can provide a servicelocation where items 110 can be loaded or unloaded from the transportconveyor 112. The vertical feed conveyors 104 can be powered orunpowered. The vertical feed conveyor 104 in another variation is anunpowered chute in which items 110 are slid, and in another example, thevertical feed conveyor 104 is a belt-type conveyor to move the items110. Other variations and features of the vertical feed conveyors 104will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3-5 and 7-14.

A technique for transporting items 110 with the system 100 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Although the technique willbe described with reference to supplying items from the racks 102, thesteps of this technique can be reserved such that items 110 can beloaded on the racks 102 with this technique. Moreover, as mentionedbefore, loading and unloading of items 110 on the racks 102 can occursimultaneously, if so desired. Looking at FIG. 2, the rack conveyors 116discharge the required items 110 onto the carriages 202 of the transportconveyor 112, as is indicated by arrow 204. The item 110 is then movedlaterally in the direction as indicated by arrow 206 to a destinationvertical feed conveyor 104. Other items 110 are transported by movingthe transport conveyor 112 in the opposite direction. Once the item 110reaches the destination vertical feed conveyor 104, the item 110 isdischarged from the carriage 202 and onto the vertical feed conveyor104, as is shown by arrow 208. Arrows 208 and 210 in FIG. 2 show thatitems 110 can be simultaneously loaded onto the vertical feed conveyors104 from two or more sides and in this case from both sides. Thevertical feed conveyor 104 is then moved, either lowered or raised, tothe desired discharge level 118 (FIG. 1) where the item 110 is furtherprocessed. In this particular example, the item 110 is lowered to thefloor where the item is packed with other items 110 from the samevertical feed conveyor 104 and then shipped (via truck, car, train,airplane, etc.) or otherwise processed further. Additional items 110from the same rack level 109 are transported to other vertical feedconveyors 104 in a similar fashion. It should be recognized that virtualstreams of items 110 can be unloaded from the rack conveyors 116 anddeposited onto various vertical feed conveyors 104, thereby providinghigh throughput. Once the items 110 from a particular rack level 109 areprocessed, the vertical transport 106 is then raised or lowered to thenext rack level 109 to be serviced. The next rack level 109 can be onejust above or below the previous rack level 109 or can be several levels109 away. As soon as the vertical transport 106 reaches the nextvertical rack level 109 to be serviced, the items 110 from thatparticular level 109 are loaded onto the various vertical feed conveyors104 in the same fashion described above and delivered to theirrespective destinations.

This technique and system 100 minimizes the vertical positioning of thevertical transport before it can discharge or retrieve items 110,thereby improving throughput. In other words, the vertical transport 106does not need to travel to a particular unloading level in order tofulfill orders. Rather, the vertical transport 106 can fulfill multipleorders simultaneously and on a continuous basis such that orders can beprocessed in an extremely fast and efficient manner. Each of thevertical feed conveyors 104 can be dedicated to service one or moreparticular orders. For example, one of the vertical feed conveyors 104can be dedicated to fulfill an order of items 110 for one truck (orother vehicle), and another vertical feed conveyor 104 can be dedicatedto fulfill the orders for a different truck (or vehicle). Multiplevertical feed conveyors 104 can be grouped together to servicerelatively large orders in a rapid fashion. As should be recognized,this technique is used in areas other than in distribution, warehousing,wholesales, and retail situations. For instance, this technique can beused to rapidly distribute parts to various manufacturing lines.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 illustrates an example of spiral conveyor 300 that canbe used as vertical feed conveyor 104 for the systems illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 6. As can be seen, the spiral conveyor 300 includes acontinuous conveyor belt 302 that generally is oriented in a spiralfashion. The spiral conveyor 300 includes a retention wall 304 thatretains items 110 on the spiral conveyor 300. The spiral conveyor 300further includes one or more loading/unloading levels 306 from whichitems 110 are loaded or unloaded from the spiral conveyor 300. In oneform, the loading/unloading levels 306 generally correspond to thelocations of the vertical rack levels 109 in the racks 102, but thelevels 306 can be configured differently in other embodiments. Theloading/unloading levels 306 of the spiral conveyor 300 can bepositioned to service every other, second, third, fourth, etc. verticalrack levels 109 in the racks 102, for example. In the depictedembodiment, each loading/unloading level 306 of the spiral conveyor 300has a loading/unloading section 308 where items 110 are loaded and/orunloaded. The loading/unloading section 308 in the illustratedembodiment are in the form of notches 310 in the retention walls 304 ofthe spiral conveyor 300, but the loading/unloading section 308 takes onother forms to facilitate transfer of items 110 in other embodiments. Inthe system 100 of FIG. 1, each loading/unloading level 306 has twoloading/unloading sections 308 on opposite sides so as to facilitateloading and/or unloading from opposite sides, but in other embodiments,each level 306 can include one or more than two loading/unloadingsections 308 (and even none). At the loading/unloading section 308, thespiral conveyor 302 in one embodiment is generally flat and level (notinclined) so that the items are loaded or unloaded on a level surface402, as is shown in FIG. 4. This prevents tipping as well as jamming ofitems 110. In one form, the vertical incline of the spiral conveyor 300is generally held to zero at the loading/unloading sections 308 (i.e.,the conveyor 300 is not inclined such that it is level) for a 180 degreeor bigger arc to allow two merge points at opposite sides at the samevertical level 306. However, this arc where the spiral conveyor 300 islevel can be different in other embodiments. For example, the spiralconveyor 300 can be level for a 10 to 45 degree arc. In other examples,some or all of the loading/unloading levels 306 of the spiral conveyor300 are not level but are inclined. Again, in further variations, othertypes of conveyors can be used in place of the spiral conveyor 300.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a material handling system 600that can be used in conjunction with or as an alternative to the system100 of FIG. 1. For example, the system 600 of FIG. 6 can be used to loaditems 110 onto one end of the racks 102, and at the same time, thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 can be used to unload and distribute items 110 fromthe opposite end of the racks 102 (or vice-versa). Like the previoussystem 100, the system 600 in FIG. 6 has one or more vertical feedconveyors 104 and one or more racks 102. For the sake of brevity andclarity, the common features shared between the system 100 of FIG. 1 andthe system 600 of FIG. 6 will not be discussed at length below, butplease refer to the previous discussion of these features. Although onlyone vertical feed conveyor 104 is shown, the system 600 can include morethan one. In the FIG. 6 embodiment, each vertical rack level 109 has adedicated horizontal or lateral transport conveyor 602, and the system600 has a spur conveyor 604 from which items 110 are loaded and/orunloaded from the vertical feed conveyor 104. As will be described belowwith reference to FIG. 15, the vertical rack levels 109 in otherembodiments do not have dedicated lateral transport conveyors 602, butinstead, one or more lateral transport conveyors 602 move vertically ina fashion similar to the vertical transport conveyor 106 in the system100 of FIG. 1. The lateral transport conveyor 602 and spur 604 conveyorsin one embodiment are belt conveyors, but the lateral transport conveyor602 and spur 604 conveyors can include other types of conveyors, such asroller, cross-belt, bucket, chain, and cart-on-track conveyors, to namejust a few examples. Each lateral transport conveyor 602 has one or morepusher members 606 that push items from the lateral transport conveyors602 onto the racks 102. The pusher members 606 are able to movehorizontally or laterally, as is indicated by double arrow 608, so thata single pusher member 606 is able to service a section or the entiretransport conveyor 602. This ability of the pusher member 606 to movereduces the number of required pusher members 606, which in turn reducescost and simplifies maintenance. In other embodiments, each transportconveyor 602 has more than one pusher member 606, which can be used as aspare and/or used to service a section of the conveyor 602.

A technique for handling items with the system 600 of FIG. 6 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6. Although the technique will bedescribed with reference to supplying items 110 to the racks 102, thistechnique can be modified (e.g., reversed) to unload items 110 from theracks 102. Further, this technique can be modified to rearrange items onthe racks 102. A worker 610 (or a robot) unloads items 110 from a pallet612 and onto the spur conveyor 604. In the depicted embodiment, theitems are loaded near the lower level of the racks 102, but it iscontemplated that the items 110 can be loaded at other levels, such asabove the racks 102, beneath the racks 102, and/or in the middle of theracks 102. From the spur conveyor 604, the items 110 travel verticallyto a destination rack level 109 where the items 110 are transferred ontothe corresponding lateral conveyor 602. The lateral conveyor 602horizontally moves (arrow 614) the item 110 to the destination rack row114. At the destination rack row 114, the pusher 606 pushes the item 110in direction 616 onto the destination rack conveyor 116. Other items 110can be loaded on other rows 114 and/or levels 109 in a similar fashion.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a diverter system 800 with a pusher member 606that can be used to transfer items 110 from the vertical feed conveyor104 to the lateral transport conveyor 602. The pusher member 606 in FIG.8 includes a piston 802 that extends and retracts a pusher head 804 topush the item 110. In one embodiment, the pusher member 606 is fixed orotherwise associated to a specific level 306 of the spiral conveyor 300,and in another embodiment, the pusher member 606 is moveable such thatthe pusher member 606 is able to service multiple levels 306 of thespiral conveyor 300.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a diverter system 1000 with a puller mechanism 1002that can be used to transfer items 110 from the vertical feed conveyor104 to the lateral transport conveyor 602. As can be seen, the pullermechanism 1002 includes an actuator 1004 that extends and retracts apuller arm 1006. The puller arm 1006 in the illustrated embodiment isL-shaped, but it can be shaped differently in other embodiments.

FIGS. 11 and 12 depict a diverter system 1200 with a slat spiralconveyor 1202 and a shoe sorter mechanism 1204. Each shoe 1206 in theshoe sorter mechanism is capable of simultaneous independent lateralmovement while it travels along the conveyor. As shown, the shoes 1206move from one side of the spiral conveyor 1202 to the other, contactingthe side of the item 110, thereby directing the item 110 to the lateraltransport conveyor 602.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a diverter system 1400 with an activated orangled roller belt (ARB) 1402. ARBs 1402 typically have built-in rollers1404 that are oriented at an angle relative to the travel direction ofits belt 1406. The rollers 1404 are activated by pressing one or morerollers beneath the belt 1406 against the built-in rollers 1404. Whenthe rollers 1404 in the belt 1406 are activated, the item 110 moves atan angle to the lateral transport conveyor 602. In one form, the ARB1402 is of the type sold by Intralox, L.L.C. (Harahan, La.), but othertypes of ARBs can be used as well.

FIG. 15 illustrates a perspective view of a material handling system1500 that is a variation of the system 600 shown in FIG. 6. Most of thecomponents in the FIG. 15 system 1500 are the same as the ones in theFIG. 6 system 600, with the exception that the lateral transportconveyor 602 is configured to move vertically. Like the previous system600, the system 1500 in FIG. 15 has one or more vertical feed conveyors104 and one or more racks 102. For the sake of brevity and clarity, thecommon features and functions shared between the system 600 of FIG. 6and the system 1500 of FIG. 15 will not be discussed at length below,but please refer to the previous discussion of these features. Asalluded to before, the vertical rack levels 109 do not have dedicatedlateral transport conveyors 602. Instead, one or more lateral transportconveyors 602 move vertically, as indicated by arrow 1502, in a fashionsimilar to the vertical transport conveyor 106 in the system 100 ofFIG. 1. An elevator 108 of the type described with reference to FIG. 1can be used to raise and lower the lateral transport conveyor 602 inorder to service the various rack levels.

As should be recognized, the above-described spiral conveyor systems ofFIGS. 9-14 can be adapted for use with the system 100 of FIG. 1, thesystem 600 of FIG. 6, and/or the system 1500 of FIG. 15 as well as othertypes of material handling systems. Moreover, various components andfeatures in the systems described above can be combined together and/ormodified for use in other systems. The above-described techniques andsystems can be used in numerous areas, such as distribution,warehousing, wholesales, retail, and manufacturing environments, to namejust a few.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that allchanges, equivalents, and modifications that come within the spirit ofthe inventions defined by following claims are desired to be protected.All publications, patents, and patent applications cited in thisspecification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individualpublication, patent, or patent application were specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forth inits entirety herein.

1. A method, comprising: moving a cross-belt conveyor in a verticaldirection to a storage level having an item, wherein the cross-beltconveyor includes one or more carriages moveable in a lateral directionand each of the one or more carriages having a powered belt mountedgenerally perpendicular to the lateral direction; moving the item withthe cross-belt conveyor in a lateral direction relative to the storagelevel; and moving the item on a vertical conveyor to or from a verticalposition that is vertically offset from the storage level while thecross-belt conveyor remains at the storage level.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, in which said moving the cross-belt conveyor inthe vertical direction includes raising and/or lowering the cross-beltconveyor.
 3. The method according to claim 1, in which: the storagelevel includes one or more storage rows; and said moving the item withthe cross-belt conveyor in the lateral direction includes moving theitem in a direction that is transverse and/or perpendicular to thestorage rows.
 4. The method according to claim 1, in which said movingthe item on the vertical conveyor includes lowering and/or raising theitem.
 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: loadingthe item from the storage level onto the cross-belt conveyor after thecross-belt conveyor is moved to the storage level; and wherein saidmoving the item with the cross-belt conveyor in the lateral directionincludes moving the item to a loading area of the cross-belt conveyor;and transferring the item from the cross-belt conveyor to the verticalconveyor.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: wherein saidmoving the cross-belt conveyor in the vertical direction includesraising the cross-belt conveyor to the storage level; and wherein saidmoving the item on the vertical conveyor includes lowering the item toan unloading area.
 7. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: transferring the item from the vertical conveyor to thecross-belt conveyor; wherein said moving the item with the cross-beltconveyor in the lateral direction includes moving the item to a storagearea of the storage level; and loading the item from the cross-beltconveyor onto the storage area of the storage level after the cross-beltconveyor is moved to the storage level.
 8. The method according to claim1, in which said moving the item on the vertical conveyor includesmoving the item along a helical path.
 9. The method according to claim1, further comprising: moving the cross-belt conveyor in the verticaldirection to a second storage level having a second item; moving thesecond item with the cross-belt conveyor in the lateral direction; andmoving the second item vertically on the vertical conveyor.
 10. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: moving a second itemlaterally to or from a second vertical conveyor with the cross-beltconveyor.
 11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:loading items on at least opposing sides of the vertical conveyor. 12.The method according to claim 1, in which the cross-belt conveyor movesvertically as well as horizontally to provide a continuous stream ofitems.
 13. The method according to claim 1, in which the verticalconveyor extends vertically to provide a continuous vertical path. 14.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: pushing the itemwith a pusher that is laterally moveable along the cross-belt conveyor.15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: pushing theitem with a pusher that is moveable along the vertical conveyor.
 16. Themethod according to claim 1, in which the cross-belt conveyor includes across-belt conveyor looped around the vertical conveyor.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 1, in which the vertical conveyor includes a spiralconveyor that vertically transports the items on a continuous basis toand/or from a feed conveyor.
 18. A system, comprising: at least onevertical storage rack having two or more rack levels; a cross-beltconveyor located along a side of the storage rack for transporting theitems, the cross-belt conveyor including one or more carriageshorizontally moveable in a travel direction along the one or more rackconveyors, and each of the one or more carriages having a powered beltmounted generally perpendicular to the travel direction to move theitems generally perpendicular to the travel direction of the carriage;an elevator coupled to the cross-belt conveyor to move the cross-beltconveyor vertically between the levels of the storage rack; and one ormore vertical feed conveyors that vertically extend between the variousrack levels so that items can be loaded and/or unloaded at any of thelevels without the need for the cross-belt conveyor to return to aloading/unloading level.
 19. The system according to claim 18, in whichthe cross-belt conveyor is configured to laterally transport one or moreitems from one rack row that is not horizontally aligned with thevertical feed conveyors.
 20. The system according to claim 19, in whichthe vertical feed conveyors are in the form of one or morehelical-shaped conveyors.
 21. The system according to claim 20, in whichthe cross-belt conveyor includes a cross-belt conveyor looped around thevertical feed conveyors.
 22. The system according to claim 20, in whichthe vertical feed conveyors have one or more portions where the verticalfeed conveyors are level.
 23. The system according to claim 22, in whichthe portions where the vertical feed conveyors are level extend for atleast an 180-degree arc to allow two merge points at opposite sides atthe same vertical level.
 24. The system according to claim 18, in whichthe cross-belt conveyor is configured to simultaneously load and/orunload the items onto the vertical feed conveyors from two or moresides.
 25. The system according to claim 18, in which the vertical feedconveyors include: a first vertical feed conveyor configured to supplyitems to the cross-belt conveyor which in turn loads items into a rack;and a second vertical feed conveyor configured to receive items from thecross-belt conveyor.
 26. The system according to claim 18, furthercomprising: one or more replenishment conveyors configured to transportthe items to various storage rows on the rack level.
 27. The systemaccording to claim 26, in which each level has a moveable pusher memberthat loads items into the rows.
 28. The system according to claim 27, inwhich the pusher member is able to move horizontally to service theentire level or some section of the level.
 29. The system according toclaim 18, in which one or more pusher members are disposed along thevertical feed conveyors to direct items to a specific rack level. 30.The system according to claim 18, in which a single pusher membertravels in the vertical feed conveyor so that the pusher member canservice more than one vertical level and/or the entire vertical feedconveyor.
 31. The system of claim 18, in which the cross-belt conveyorincludes a cross-belt conveyor.
 32. The system of claim 31, in which thevertical feed conveyors are in the form of one or more helical-shapedconveyors around which the cross-belt conveyor is looped.
 33. The systemof claim 18, in which the vertical feed conveyors include a divertersystem.
 34. The system of claim 33, in which the diverter systemincludes a pusher member.
 35. The system of claim 33, in which thediverter system includes a puller mechanism.
 36. The system of claim 33,in which the diverter system includes a shoe sorter mechanism.
 37. Thesystem of claim 33, in which the diverter system includes an angledroller belt.